Belt conveyor load zone support assembly

ABSTRACT

A cartridge assembly for use in a load zone support assembly is disclosed. The cartridge assembly includes a shaft configured to be coupled to an idler frame of a belt conveyor system. The cartridge assembly further includes a support plate coupled to the shaft and a wear pad coupled to the support plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure generally relates to belt conveyor equipment for bulk material transportation. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a conveyor belt support assembly for a load zone of bulk material transportation equipment.

Belt conveyors are employed to transport bulk material, such as sand, gravel and the like, from a feed end of a conveyor system, where the material is deposited on the belt, to the opposite end of the conveyor system, where the material is discharged from the belt. Most belt conveyors employ a form of endless belt that is wrapped over a motor-driven head pulley mounted on a frame of the conveyor system at the discharge end and a return idler pulley mounted on the conveyor system frame at the feed end. Between the feed end and the discharge end, the belt is supported on a plurality of troughing idler assemblies that are mounted periodically along the frame of the conveyor.

A series of troughing idler frames or supports 10 are shown in FIG. 1, each idler frame 10 including a base 12 that mounts to the frame of the conveyor. Connected to each base 12 is a plurality of outer perch supports 14A and inner perch supports 14B for supporting three idler rollers 16A-C in a generally U-shaped configuration. As such, outer supports 14A located at each end of base 12 support one end of a shaft carrying outermost rollers 16A and 16C at a specified height above base 12, while inner supports 14B are positioned on base 12 to support the ends of a shaft carrying a central roller 16B as well as an opposite end of the shaft carrying rollers 16A and 16C at a height below the height of outer supports 14A relative to base 12.

At the feed end of the conveyor, material is deposited on the belt in a load zone that typically comprises a walled hopper that directs the material onto the belt. As the material strikes the belt, the belt is prone to sagging between adjacent idler assemblies, which can result in material falling off the belt in the load zone area. One known method for addressing this problem involves substituting the two outermost rollers of several idler supports in the load zone with one or more long support rails supported across the several idler supports, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,053. While support rails extend along and support the belt edges in the load zone and prevent belt sagging, they have their drawbacks. For example, wear inevitably occurs on the surface of the support rail in contact with the underside of the belt. While this wear may be localized in only one portion of the support rail, replacement of the entire support rail is required. Due to the large size of the support rail and the presence of the belt, this replacement is difficult, time consuming and costly. Thus, there is a need to improve the support assembly for the load zone of a belt conveyor to overcome these drawbacks.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Concepts presented herein relate to a cartridge assembly for use in a belt conveyer load zone. The cartridge assembly includes a wear pad, a support plate and a shaft coupled to the support plate. The shaft includes ends that can be coupled to an idler frame of a belt conveyer system. In this manner, the cartridge assembly can be individually replaced as material on the wear pad erodes.

In a further embodiment, a load zone support assembly includes a plurality of spaced apart idler frames. A plurality of cartridge assemblies are coupled to each idler frame. Each cartridge assembly includes a shaft coupled to the idler frame, a support plate and a wear pad. In a further embodiment, two cartridge assemblies are mounted to each idler frame.

In yet a further embodiment, a method of providing a load zone for a belt conveyor system is discussed. The method includes providing a plurality of spaced apart idler frames and coupling a plurality of cartridge assemblies to each idler frame: Each cartridge assembly includes a shaft mounted to an idler frame support, a support plate and a wear pad. In a further embodiment, two cartridge assemblies are mounted to each idler frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments and together with the description serve to explain principles of embodiments. Other embodiments and many of the intended advantages of embodiments will be readily appreciated as they become better understood by reference to the following detailed description. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. Like reference numerals designate corresponding similar parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a series of troughing idlers.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a load zone support assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is schematic front view of an idler frame supporting a cartridge assembly of the load zone support assembly of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the idler frame and cartridge assembly of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cartridge assembly for use in a load zone support assembly.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the cartridge assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a wear pad of the cartridge assembly.

FIG. 8 is a cross-section along line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a cartridge assembly for use in a load zone support assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “leading,” “trailing,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. Because components of embodiments can be positioned in a number of different orientations, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

It is to be understood that the features of the various exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a load zone support assembly 100. The support assembly 100 includes a plurality of spaced apart idler frames or supports 101-104. Each frame 101-104 includes a base 112 connected to two outer perch supports 114A and two inner perch supports 114B. Frames 101-104 are similar in construction to the idler frames 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. For instance, outer supports 114A are at a specified height above base 112, greater than a specified height of inner supports 114B above base 112. To provide a load zone for a belt conveyor, a plurality of cartridge assemblies 118 and 120 as well as an impact roller 122 are coupled to each of the frames 101-104. In particular, one end of cartridge assemblies 118, 120 are coupled to outer supports 114A and one end of cartridge assemblies 118, 120 are coupled to inner supports 114B. Rollers 122 are supported on either side by inner supports 114B. Together, cartridge assemblies 118, 120 and roller 122 form a U-shaped trough to receive material loaded onto assembly 100. Cartridge assemblies 118 and 120 include coupling mechanisms to allow selective coupling of cartridge assemblies 118 and 120 to frames 101-104. In particular, the cartridge assemblies 118 and 120 remain stationary with respect to each of the frame 101-104.

Each cartridge assembly supports a conveyor belt such that sag of the belt is substantially prevented between consecutive idler frames (e.g. frames 101 and 102), as compared to using rollers in consecutive idler frames. In one embodiment, a center-to-center distance of consecutive frames (e.g. frames 101, 102) is approximately 16.0 inches and a width of cartridge assembly 118 is approximately 10.0 inches. As a result, the distance between consecutive facing edges of cartridge assemblies 118 (e.g., of frames 101 and 102) is about 6.0 inches. In other embodiments, the distance can be in a range between approximately 2.0 inches and 12.0 inches. By providing individual cartridge assemblies 118, 120, replacement of the assemblies can be performed quickly and easily, since only a particular assembly needs to be replaced at any one time, due to wear on the surface of the respective cartridge assemblies 118, 120. Thus, instead of replacing an entire bar that spans multiple idler frames, a single assembly is replaced, saving time and resources in continued operation of a belt conveyor.

By way of example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6, cartridge assembly 118 includes a shaft 130, a support plate 132 and first and second wear pads 138, 140. Shaft 130 forms recessed grooves 142, 144 at each end that slide into corresponding slots 146, 148 of outer support 114A and inner support 114B, respectively. In one embodiment, retaining clips 150, 152 can be utilized to retain shaft 130 of cartridge assembly 118 stationary with respect to supports 114A, 114B, respectively. Shaft 130 is intermediate the width of support plate 132 and is similar in size and construction of corresponding shafts used in conventional idler rollers. Each wear pad 138, 140, in one embodiment, is approximately 5.0 inches wide and similar in length to a conventional idler roller.

To assemble cartridge assembly 118, in one embodiment, support plate 132 is welded to shaft 130, for example using a stitch weld. To couple wear pads 138 and 140 to support plate 132, a plurality of fasteners 160 pass through corresponding apertures 162 in wear pads 138, 140 and apertures 164 in support plate 132. Fasteners 162 can then be secured using corresponding nuts 166. Once assembled, cartridge assembly 118 can be easily coupled to an idler frame, such as frame 101, to support a belt 170 (FIG. 3). As illustrated, wear pads 138 and 140 are in planar contact with a lower surface of belt 170. This planar contact provides a wide support so as to substantially prevent sag between adjacent frames in load zone support assembly 100, yet still be easily replaced once wear pads 138 and 140 have worn out. The planar contact provides a substantially greater support of belt 170 than tangential contact provided by a roller, such as rollers 16A and 16C of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate wear pad 138. Apertures 162 include a bore 180 and countersink 182 to accommodate fasteners 160. Additionally, as desired, wear pad 138 can include a beveled edge 184 around a perimeter of the wear pad 138. In one embodiment, wear pad 138 is formed of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. During use, wear pads 138 are exposed to impact from materials loaded onto load zone support assembly 100 as well as friction between belt 170 and wear pad 138. The impact and friction cause material of wear pad 138 to erode and eventually require replacement, so as to prevent damage to belt 170.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative cartridge assembly 200. Cartridge assembly 200 includes a shaft 202, support plate 204 and a wear pad 206. In this embodiment, only a single wear pad is provided. The shaft 202 is approximately centered with respect to the support plate 204 and wear pad 206. The cartridge assembly 200 can be mounted to any of the support frames 101-104 to provide a load zone. In turn, the cartridge assembly 200 provides planar contact with a belt to substantially prevent sag of the belt.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present invention. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific idler roll retainer clips discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof. 

1. A cartridge assembly used in a load zone of a belt conveyer system, comprising: an elongated shaft configured to be coupled to an idler frame of the belt conveyer system; a support plate coupled to the shaft; and a wear pad coupled to the support plate.
 2. The cartridge assembly of claim 1 wherein the wear pad is formed of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene.
 3. The cartridge assembly of claim 1 wherein ends of the shaft are configured to cooperate with corresponding slots in the idler frame.
 4. A load zone support assembly for a belt conveyer, comprising: a plurality of idler frames, each frame including a plurality of outer supports and a plurality of inner supports; and a plurality of cartridge assemblies provided in the plurality of frames, each cartridge assembly including a shaft mounted to the frame and a wear pad coupled to the shaft.
 5. A method of providing a load zone support assembly in a belt conveyor system, comprising: providing a plurality of spaced apart idler frames, each frame including a plurality of outer supports and a plurality of inner supports; and positioning a plurality of cartridge assemblies in the plurality of idler frames.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: removing one of the cartridge assemblies from the plurality of idler frames; and positioning another cartridge assembly in place of said one of the cartridge assemblies. 